Keeney Chapel History:
Keeney Chapel United Methodist Church is honored to celebrate over a century of Methodist heritage in Tampa, Florida. Our church has been an integral part of the Palm River/Clair Mel community and a steadfast beacon of light and hope for over fifty years. Keeney Chapel UMC is a vibrant faith-based community hub where individuals can gather, celebrate, worship, and learn together.
Keeney Chapel Mission & Ministry:
Keeney Chapel United Methodist Church is committed to expanding its reach beyond the walls of the church, sharing God’s love, serving the community, and preparing disciples for the transformation of the world. Keeney Chapel partners with several community organizations to provide community resources and services. The church hosts an on-site health screening clinic weekly in partnership with Arizona College School of Nursing. This community engagement has grown exponentially; in addition to health screenings, we provide nutritious snacks, storytime with a children’s librarian, tutoring, and other youth activities for over 25 children each Friday. KUMC also partners with a nonprofit organization to provide a monthly food pantry with Feeding Tampa Bay. This ministry outreach has grown to include community and KUMC church volunteers and serves over 300 families monthly, including military families and first responders. We have a mantra at Keeney that says, “Keeney Cares!” says Rev. Valerie Goddard, Pastor of Keeney Chapel UMC. Pastor Goddard says, “Keeney is committed to demonstrating the love of Christ to our neighbors.” The KUMC Women of Faith provide Thanksgiving baskets yearly and donate handmade lap scarves, shawls, and blankets to nursing homes, hospice centers, and the NICU at Tampa General Hospital. This year, Keeney Chapel also provided Christmas gifts to over thirty-five children participating in the Friday Fun Day and after-school tutoring program with children from the local elementary school. Keeney laity actively engages in other ministry activities by donating supplies, assisting with the Renew Clothes Closet and monthly food pantry, and supporting KUMC Fresh Expressions ministry outreach activities.
Keeney Chapel Vision:
Keeney Chapel United Methodist Church is a vibrant community church serving a diverse population of community families. Clergy and laity are servant leaders who represent Christ through ministry and marketplace service. Our vision is to expand our reach into the community by providing transformational services through various ministry activities and new community partnerships. “Ministry leaders have become creative in using our limited space, says Pastor Goddard. We are currently limited in the number of children we can serve due to facility limitations.” Keeney Chapel needs space that can accommodate youth of all ages. Currently, toddlers through teens occupy the same space and share it with the health screening volunteers on Fridays. We hope to leverage our investments and garner community support to develop a facility expansion plan to accommodate our growing youth and family ministry activities. We invite our FLUMC family to join us in this life-giving ministry service at Keeney Chapel UMC in Tampa, Florida.
